CVE-2025-59799
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Artifex Ghostscript's PDF processing component. Attackers could exploit this by providing a specially crafted PDF with a large size value, potentially causing denial of service or arbitrary code execution. Systems using Ghostscript for PDF processing or conversion are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Artifex Ghostscript
📦 What is this software?
Ghostscript by Artifex
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise if the vulnerable Ghostscript process runs with elevated privileges.
Likely Case
Denial of service causing Ghostscript to crash, disrupting PDF processing services.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper sandboxing and privilege separation, potentially just a process crash.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires crafting a malicious PDF file that triggers the buffer overflow. The attacker needs to deliver this PDF to a system that processes it with Ghostscript.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 10.05.2 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=708517
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check current Ghostscript version with 'gs --version'. 2. Download and install Ghostscript 10.05.2 or later from https://www.ghostscript.com/. 3. For package managers: 'apt update && apt upgrade ghostscript' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'yum update ghostscript' (RHEL/CentOS).
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable PDF processing
allTemporarily disable Ghostscript PDF processing if not essential
Sandbox Ghostscript
linuxRun Ghostscript in a container or with reduced privileges
docker run --security-opt=no-new-privileges ghostscript
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation for PDF files before processing with Ghostscript
- Isolate Ghostscript processes in containers or VMs with network restrictions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Run 'gs --version' and check if version is 10.05.1 or earlierCheck Version:
gs --versionVerify Fix Applied:
After patching, run 'gs --version' to confirm version is 10.05.2 or later📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Ghostscript crash logs
- Segmentation fault errors in system logs
- Abnormal PDF processing failures
Network Indicators:
- Unusual PDF file uploads to systems using Ghostscript
SIEM Query:
source="*ghostscript*" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "buffer overflow" OR "crash")